Friday, July 22, 2005

NHL Hockey on HBO?

As the NHL seems ready to play games again, it has no national U.S. cable TV deal. An idea: Put games, with players and coaches miked live, on ad-free HBO, where anything goes with on-air expletives.

"That's intriguing," HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg says. "The only issues would be how much (money) they'd want and the games' significance. I'm not sure regular-season games would have the heat we'd need. But if they gave us an open book, we'd fill the pages."

Given Gary Bettman's foolish quest to eliminate fighting from the NHL, I doubt he would consider having hockey in this format. I can't imagine too many of the players would want everything on air, either.

Still, I like the thought of having some 'all-access' NHL games. If you really wanted to get inside the game of hockey, let's hear more of the 'banter' from the ice and the benches.When the CBC's board-mikes caught Brian Skrudland curse-filled tirade to the ref about a penalty he took during a Panthers/Flames game many years ago, it certainly brought the viewing experience to a different level.

The NHL could certainly attract a 'mature' audience (for lack of a better word) with a 10-game package on HBO. HBO is known for its great production capabilities, so why not take advantage if HBO were willing to talk?